In the paving art, productivity is a function of the volume of mix that can be delivered to the project and the overall speed of the lay-down and compaction process. The compaction process is typically the most limiting operation at the jobsite, while mix throughput is ordinarily less of an issue with regard to jobsite productivity. Accordingly, the number of compactors required and time available for mat densification has the greatest influence on productivity. Safety and cost are very much an issue with today's methodology, which typically employs a large number of persons to conduct the paving operation due to the fact that each machine is individually operated/controlled.
Paving operations typically employ a number of Material Transfer Vehicles or MTVs, which deliver mix to the jobsite. During transport, however, thermal loss and mechanical segregation may occur, which, in turn, adversely affects the quality of the pavement. Today, the thermal loss and mechanical segregation problems are primarily addressed in two fashions. First, thermal loss may be minimized by insulating the material haul vehicle's bed walls with foam or wood planking. Additionally, a simple canvas tarp may be draped over the open truck bed. Second, the effects of thermal varied and mechanically segregated mixes may be corrected through the use of additional, high cost auxiliary machinery to in essence “re-blend” the mix either in front of the paver (material transfer machines/windrow elevators) or in die receiving hopper of the paver (remix tub inserts).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,211 proposes using a double wailed insulated container for carrying hot mix asphalt and preventing thermal loss. The container effectively functions as an enclosed removable vehicle bed that is transported from an asphalt plant to the paving jobsite via a first transport vehicle. At the jobsite, the container is unloaded from the first transport vehicle and then reloaded onto a jobsite transport vehicle, which delivers the container to the paver and dumps the contents of the container into the hopper of a paver in a similar manner to a conventional asphalt transporting MTV, such as a dump truck.
The present invention is directed towards an improved integrated paving system, which may provide improvements in regard to at least one of the following: volume variability, mix containment, particle segregation, thermal losses, speed/jobsite productivity, safety, cost, or the number of persons required to conduct a paving operation.